Friday, August 12, 2016

When I visited France with a group of women, shopping was high on our list of activities.

If I could do it over again, I'd probably buy more goodies but, at the time,

I had a very small suitcase and an even smaller budget.

So I bought old postcards.

Beautiful images of France caught in time.

But not just any touristy postcards. I bought postcards with history.
Here's an old black and white postcard of Notre Dame's famous rose window,
just as dramatic as today's cards that reveal its brilliant colors.

As I scoured the markets for old postcards,
I remembered reading that the first printed picture postcard with an image on one side
was actually in France in 1870.

These cards had no space for stamps and no evidence they were ever mailed,
at least not without an envelope.
Wikipedia had told me these postcards were of Camp Conlie,
a training camp for soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War.

You can't find that kind of history on a rack of shiny new postcards
although the artwork is gorgeous.

When I returned home, I chose four of the old postcards to frame

(the timeworn leather frame came from Goodwill for a couple of dollars).

I think it looks perfect in this vignette in my office.

A little side table is a fun way to showcase old postcards under glass.
(The table was an estate sale score!)

The pictures on the front of these old postcards are so evocative and . . .

the handwriting on the back is beautiful.
Can anyone read what it says?

.

What's a postcard from Paris without an image of the Eiffel Tower?

The tower was completed around 1890 and postcards featuring it gave rise
to the "golden age" of picture postcards.

Oh, yes. There were other famous postcards from France.

In fact, they were called "French" postcards since most of these pictures of nude women

were produced in France.

This one is not as naughty than most of them.

You can date old postcards by noticing specific things in the pictures.

For instance, if the picture includes motorcars, it probably is no older than the early 1900s

when cars became more commonplace.

This one shows horse-and-buggy traffic on the Champs Elysees.

Fashions, building styles, street names of famous people, war memorials, handwriting style,

black and white or hand colored are all ways to date an old card.

This is a dreamy new postcard of an old scene . . .
a lovely reminder of an incredible trip to a romantic city.

Old postcards or cartes postales are an easy way
to bring a little French history home in your suitcase.

***

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Friday, August 5, 2016

It's a subtle change but it's definitely noticeable if you pay attention to the little things

in the garden like these little blue holly berries (pretty but toxic).

The early mile-high mornings are cool enough to warrant a light sweatshirt,
the sun has slipped a bit further south in the sky and the plants bend slowly toward it.

I've also noticed a slight shift in sunrise times.

There are more fallen leaves scattered over the lawn each morning and the larkspur have all gone to seed. I can't stand to see dead plants in my garden so I pull them out, but not before shaking the tiny black seeds from their crunchy pods across the dirt, hoping they will return next spring.

As one plant settles in for the winter, another blooms.

Do thistles bloom?
Why yes! Yes, they do.

Even though it seems like many plants in the garden are gradually going off,
other plants are just coming on, bringing color to a fading garden.

Sea lavender blooms only at this time of year but it's worth waiting for.

In my August garden, there are tall sunflowers, pink echinacea, white obedient plant, orange agastache, pink garden phlox and yellow black-eyed Susans.
It's a good idea to plant some late season bloomers when planning your garden
so you have flowers throughout the waning season.

Spring pansies are enjoying a second bloom as the nights cool down

and Bonica roses stretch through the picket fence, reaching for the sun.

The ornamental grasses have sprouted their fluffy heads,

reminding me of undulating wheat fields in the breeze.

The change is not just about the plants.
Some new birds have started visiting my garden.
I filled my birdfeeder and, within a few minutes,
it was covered with chickadees and red, brown and gold finches.

The feeder started out on a shepherd's hook but I moved it higher up in the crabapple tree

when I saw a neighbor's cat lying underneath it with mischief on its mind.

I've even spotted a hummingbird darting around the red bee balm at dusk.

When I tried to take a picture of chickadees and finches in the feeder,
look who showed up!
Surprise! It's a little Downey Woodpecker. So sweet.

A squirrel was even quicker in spotting the new addition.

I smiled as he sat up under the feeder, nose twitching, and waved his tiny feet in the air,
trying to reach the seeds.

One year I coated the shepherd's hook with cooking oil and couldn't stop laughing

as the squirrel tried to climb up the pole and slowly slid back down each time
like a little furry fireman.

Last year I purchased a birdfeeder with a cage around it to keep the squirrels out.

Ha! Foiled again!

Although the sunset is painting the western sky a few minutes earlier each evening now,

it's still baking hot in mid-day and I admit I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

***

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Hi ! I'm Pat !

Welcome to Bringing French Country Home where it’s all about comfortable elegance. I love decorating and gardening with a French Country twist and an appreciation of the past. Won't you join me and see how you can have a bit of French Country no matter where you live?